Our Real Value

But we can heal this twisted thinking and reclaim our power as human beings by understanding that God is the Most Just.

This seems like a strange statement when talking about appearance. But if you think about it, we don’t choose the genes that make up our appearance, and we cannot prevent old age.

And to be judged by something that we have so little control over, such as our appearance, is unjust. It’s not only unjust; it is cruel, petty, and damaging to the individual and society as a whole.

But God is most Just because

“God does not look at your figures nor at your attire, but He looks at your hearts [and deeds],” (Narrated in Muslim)

Allah (SWT) looks at those things that are in our control. He looks at the content of our characters.

Fortunately, how good our hearts are absolutely something within our control and something we can develop no matter who we are, what we look like, or how much money we have.

And, as Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) said, “Whoever beautifies himself on the inside, Allah will beautify him on the outside.”

Balance

As with all things Islamic, there is a balance that must be struck here. The Prophet (PBUH) said,

 “No one will enter Paradise who has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart.”

A man said,

“What if a man likes his clothes to look good and his shoes to look good?” He said, “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth and looking down on people.” (Narrated in Muslim)

Allah (SWT) is beautiful and loves beauty. He is the owner, creator, and bestower of beauty. There is nothing wrong with trying to look our best. It’s commendable to be clean and presentable.

It is absolutely necessary to take care of our bodies with exercise and good nutrition. It’s not even blameworthy to love beautiful clothes and actively try to look beautiful.

But the problem comes when we waste so much of our lives and money, when we buy into a false value system, and when we allow others to lower our self-esteem and/or allow ourselves to become arrogant because of the superficial.

If we find ourselves spending all our money on the superficial, we can stop and think about spending some of that on sadaqah.

If we find ourselves spending all of our time in the mirror or taking selfies, we should remind ourselves that good character is more lasting than beauty.

If we find ourselves only thinking about how we look, we must use more of our brain power to gain lasting knowledge.

If we find ourselves thinking we are better or worse than others based on our outfit, we have to rethink that and think about how Allah (SWT) sees us.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there is no better observer than Allah (SWT).

This article is from our archives.